Whiteoak v State Parole Authority and the Attorney-General of NSW [2020] NSWSC 185

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Whiteoak v State Parole Authority and the Attorney-General of NSW [2020] NSWSC 185 Hearing dates: 29 August 2019 Date of orders: 13 March 2020 Decision date: 13 March 2020 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Bellew J Decision: (1) The time for filing the amended summons is extended to 29 August 2019. (2) The proceedings are dismissed. (3) The question of costs is reserved. (4) The parties are to notify my Associate within 7 days as to whether agreement has been reached as to costs, in which case a minute of any order(s) sought is to be provided. (5) Absent agreement as to costs, each party is to file with my Associate written submissions not exceeding 3 pages in length by 5.00 pm on 27 March 2020. Catchwords: Administrative Law – Judicial Review – Statutory construction – Plaintiff previously convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment – Sentence subsequently re-determined so as to incorporate a non-parole period – Where non-parole period expired and plaintiff sought release on parole – Plaintiff a citizen of the United Kingdom who had never applied for Australian citizenship – Where plaintiff's visa had been cancelled and plaintiff was liable to immediate deportation to the United Kingdom upon release – Evidence before the Authority to support the conclusion that the plaintiff required assistance to reintegrate into the community and address the risk of reoffending – No means available for any supervision of the plaintiff if he left Australia – Where the State Parole Authority refused the plaintiff's application for release on parole – Whether the Authority erred in taking into account the fact of the plaintiff's inevitable deportation – Whether the Authority erred in concluding that the interests of the safety of the community extended to the community in the United Kingdom to which the plaintiff proposed to relocate upon release and deportation